Tuesday, June 5, 2012

5 Ways to Manage Your Principal

PMs often complain that they fail to earn budgeted profits
because they can’t control the hours principals charge to their
projects. Although this lament may seem overstated, there is no doubt
that a few hours of a principal’s time can eat up significant dollars in
the fee budget. Here are five excellent ways to control a principal’s
time on your projects:

1) At the project’sbeginning, establish the responsibilities and functions of any principals involved.

2) Budget activity by each principal, and communicate that budget to the principal in both hours and dollars. Provide your principal with regular updates on the amount of time used.

3) Control project time by breaking down principal involvement into small, specific tasks.

4) When discussing the project, always include a discussion of budget status. Remind principals that their time is the most expensive time available and that they must use it prudently.

5) If your project is in financial trouble, announce to the principal that,
due to the circumstances, no one (including the principal) is allowed
to charge time without specific, written authorization from you.

The longest time sheets in the office should be those belonging to
principals who work on projects. These individuals should be spending
small increments of time on the largest number of projects – quickly
checking in and getting info, as necessary – as well as on marketing and
G&A tasks. Don’t let their involvement and time eat up your budget.